A.J. Burnett

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi wants to set the record straight. According to team sources, the man with the seven-year plan is preparing a press release that he hopes will clear up all the recent “confusion.” The Prime Minister’s office is still reviewing the wording, but Maclean’s has obtained a draft copy:

La première étoile: As baseball reaches the All Star break, the story of the season is, without a doubt, Josh Hamilton. The Dallas Morning News does a nice job of telling the tale of Hamilton’s battle against drug and alcohol addiction, to claw his way back into the major leagues. Batting over .300, with 21 homers and 95 RBIs, just two years after he was completely out of the game. We at Balls don’t often get teary over tales of redemption and the power of the human spirit, but, you know…sniff…we’re not made of stone either.

The jays start a critical road trip tonight in Milwaukee, with the A.J. Burnett soap opera still in full swing. this morning, The Star’s Richard Griffin (maybe Toronto’s best baseball analyst) provides a detailed and analytical

La première étoile: Rocco Mediate. Yes, we watched in awe as Tiger Woods hobbled around Torrey Pines on a bum knee. And like you, we spent Father’s Day evening on the edge of our couches, knowing full well that Woods would drain that final-hole putt to force U.S. Open overtime. He is the greatest golfer ever. End of discussion. But don’t let Tiger’s heroics completely overshadow the man on the other end of today’s playoff. Mediate hasn’t won a tournament in six years; he hasn’t even made the cut in 8 of his past 10 events. Yet there he was on Sunday afternoon, smiling and waving on his way to a near-perfect fourth round. If Rocco somehow tames Tiger today, he will make history on two separate fronts: the oldest man to win the Open (he’s 45) and the first champion not ranked in the top 100 (he’s 158th). Go Rocco.